Norway Commits to Slow Cut of $65 Billion Stake in Statoil

Norwegian Prime Minster Erna Solberg. Solberg, whose Conservative-led minority government ousted a Labor-led coalition in September, said in August her administration would seek to cut its stake in Statoil to 51 percent from 67 percent. Photographer: Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images

June 11 (Bloomberg) -- Norway’s government said it won’t
rush any reduction of its $65 billion stake in Statoil ASA, the
largest company in western Europe’s biggest energy producer.

The policy will also apply to a number of Norway’s other
big companies in which the government is an owner, Trade and
Industry Minister Monica Maeland said yesterday in an interview
in Oslo. Those include Telenor ASA and Norsk Hydro ASA.

“We don’t want to move too quickly and we want to make
sure we find the right owners and keep the value of what we
own,” Maeland said. “Norway will always own a large amount of
the companies we have a stake in, but we’re looking at allowing
more private ownership.”

The government is due to publish a proposal next week
outlining which companies it will invest less in and how the
divestments will be carried out. Maeland, who took office in
October, has met with representatives from companies including
Telenor, the largest Nordic phone company, Cermaq ASA, a salmon
producer, and Statkraft AS, Europe’s largest renewable energy
producer, to gather information for the review.

Prime Minister Erna Solberg, whose Conservative-led
minority government ousted a Labor-led coalition in September,
said in August her administration would seek to cut its stake in
Statoil to 51 percent from 67 percent.

Wealth Fund

The company, based in Stavanger on Norway’s west coast,
operates about 80 percent of the country’s oil and gas
production. Shares in Statoil fell 0.3 percent to 182.9 kroner
today in Oslo.

Besides its large state holdings in energy firms, Norway
has also built up an $880 billion sovereign wealth fund to
prevent its fossil fuel riches from overheating the economy.

Before becoming prime minister, Solberg signaled her
government would seek a one-third ownership stake in Telenor and
aluminum producer Norsk Hydro. Norway’s government owns 34.3
percent of Hydro and 54 percent of Telenor, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg.

“There is no plan to move very, very quickly on
anything,” Maeland said. “It’s about finding the right timing
and right opportunities.”